NIKE x ASOS- Search for Greatness

The way we search for clothing is constantly changing, with businesses working everyday with new trends to try and optimise every search. Brands or retailers want to meet the growing demands from the consumers when they shop for fashion and therefore introducing new ways to search is often an attempt to do this.

ASOS is one of the leading ecommerce fashion retailers and there is no surprise that they are often the first to introduce new trends to gain a first mover advantage in this fast-moving industry. According to Forbes, ASOS’ users are 80% on mobile, with 70% of sales stemming from this. The app is used on average 80 minutes per month by consumers and therefore is a great platform for the business to really develop and enhance further. In August 2017, they launched ‘visual search’ which is the technology that allows you to take a photograph of an item of clothing and it will find that product if they sell it, or find almost exact alternative based on the photograph alone. This trend has been used to develop the way people search, and increase the conversion of people wanting to find the right product and then buying it. Overall the application of the trend is a good idea and excited consumers however there were still grey areas, not all products could be found. Here is where Nike steps in.

Just three months after the first launch, Nike X ASOS Visual search was launched. Supported by a large independent brand allowed them to enhance their technology and funding, overall improving the ability for the search to produce more accurate recommendations based on the photographs. Nike saw the opportunity ASOS had opened and therefore decided to team up to get in on some of the action. With obvious risk involved, it will be

incredibly interesting to see how well the risk pays off for both parties as this technology does not come cheaply. So far, reviews are great, Jemma Baylis on LinkedIn discussed in her article her first experience using the search. She attempted to trick the system, posting a dress from a competitor as her photo. Within 5 seconds a “scarily accurate” response was found, with products shown to her with huge similarities and style at just the click of a button.

The technology is truly exciting in the way we search, a lot of readers may be receiving gifts this Christmas containing different ways we search for clothes such household assistants. Therefore, the brands and retailers that are adopting this trend first may be the ones that gain that first mover advantage, however there is a fine line between success and failure and therefore taking these risks are admirable in their own right.